


Realization

by Ghost0



Series: The Brave & The Bold (A DCEU WonderBat Story) [5]
Category: DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:00:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29705112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: Slade and Rose prepare for the final confrontation. Following the attack on Alfred, Diana and Bruce talk some stuff out before they go back out and face the danger.
Series: The Brave & The Bold (A DCEU WonderBat Story) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179917
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Realization

The sun was just about to touch the horizon. Orange light reflected off the windows and glass of Gotham’s buildings. As it the start sank down from the sky, so did Rose’s confidence as she walked along the city sidewalk. She wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants, carrying a duffel bag over her shoulder as she made her way across the city. No one turned around to give the one eyed girl a double look as she passed by. One of the advantages of being in Gotham is that unless you dye your hair green or wear a suit to keep your body below zero degrees, you won’t really stand out in a crowd too much. It allowed her to move through the crowd of people, less of them out and about as she approached the city docks. By the time she stood in front of the warehouse, there was no one else to be seen. She stood still for a moment, just looking at the old building. But she forced herself to move again, walking through the doorway.

Her footsteps echoed out throughout the open space. She made her way towards her father, no mask but otherwise fully suited up. There was a large piece of cloth thrown over something on an easel. Slade stood in front of a black vehicle, his swords on the hood. He sharpened his swords, not looking up despite feeling her approach him. She stopped about ten feet away, on his left side. “Where are all your goons?” She asked as her head turned around to examine her surroundings.

“Police custody.” He told her. One of the blades was lifted in the air, both hands carefully feeling the metal sides. “They fulfilled their role. Is he dead?”

Rose turned her head back towards Slade. Her breath was steady, her expression neutral and in control. “Would I be here if he wasn’t?” For a brief second when he turned his eye towards her, she thought he could pick up on her lie. She waited for him to yell or attack her, make some sort of action to show his fury. But all he did was pick up the other blade and put them on his back, ready to be taken out at a moment’s notice.

“He won’t come until after the sun is gone. Wonder Woman placed a tracker on me back when I was in Arkham, so I have no doubt they know where we are. I want you to take care of her. I don’t want anyone getting between us.” Slade grabbed the mask he placed on the hood of the vehicle, bringing it back down over his face. “Get ready and go on lookout. Intercept her when you get visual. I will make sure no one else is on the docks.” He turned and moved past Rose, who waited until he fully exited the warehouse. She tossed the bag on the hood and unzipped it, a thousand thoughts flying through her head as she forced herself to slowly get ready.

******

_HA HA HA! Joke’s on you, Batman._

Bruce stood before the glass display, looking up at the words spray painted on Dick’s Robin suit. They arguably ring truer in this moment than they did back when Joker wrote them. It was his way of trying to show Bruce that he couldn’t save everyone that day. That in order for him to save Gotham’s civilians, a price had to be paid. One that Joker made Dick pay. A reminder that no matter how positive one’s outlook is or how much hope they have, they will be cut down, one way or another. That was meaning behind those words back then. But as he glared up at them now, anger building up within his core, they now served as a reminder of how little things have changed. Diana was forced to save Joker’s life, both of them forced to be pulled into the city leaving the Manor defenseless – allowing someone close to him to pay for that mistake once again. Even though he was one of Deathstroke’s targets, he knew that Joker is laughing at him from whatever medical bed he is handcuffed to. Laughing at all the same mistakes made.

Down on the lower level of the cave, Alfred was laying down on a bed with Diana sitting close by. Bruce had a large supply of medical tools and supplies tucked away, but she could tell by the way he composed himself after they stabilized him that he never thought Alfred would be the one in need of them. She reached out and squeezed the butler’s hand. His eyes were closed, bandages wrapped around his torso. The heart monitor showed a slow yet steady beat. Pulling back, she turned around in the stool and looked at a small laptop on a nearby table. Her fingers typed fast, bringing up everything she could regarding the girl. Rose Wilson’s mugshot came up, as well as several documents. Some of them were arrest warrants for theft, assault, possession with the intent to distribute illegal substances. But as she dug a little deeper, Diana found information relating to her mother. Born Lillian Perez, it showed that she was married despite never living with anyone aside from Rose. She saw that she was diagnosed with cancer around the same time that Rose started to get arrested for drug possession. But she also saw that the last arrest report stopped shortly afterwards. She took a look at the medical bills and found that they were able to somehow keep up with the payments.

Diana’s observation was interrupted when she heard the soft groan of someone trying to get up. She turned and got up to approach Alfred. “You can’t move right now if you are to fully recover.” She lightly pressed a hand on his shoulder in order to get Alfred to lay back down. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my age is finally catching up with me.” He spoke softly, his face showed that it was a bit of a struggle to speak despite his attempt at a joke and a smile. Diana smiled down at him, pulling her hand away but kept her eyes on him. “Is Master Bruce…?”

“Up above us.” She answered. “I will go bring him down – “

Alfred reached out to gently grab her wrist. She was about to pull away but remained where she was. He turned his head towards her and made direct contact with his gaze. “Tell him that he can’t…blame her.” He stopped for a moment, breathing in through his nose before continuing. “But more importantly, he can’t blame himself. Not again…”

Diana nodded. “I know.” Her other hand reached over and grabbed the hand he was using to hold onto her wrist.

He appeared to be going back to sleep. But with one more thing to say. “If he loses what little…he has left, I don’t know if he can ever be…” Alfred’s eyes closed and his head leaned back onto the pillow. The monitor still showed a steady heart rate. She slowly loosened his grip on her rest and placed his arm by his side. She looked over at the mugshot of Rose one more time before closing the laptop. Moving away from the bed, she walked up the stairs and saw Bruce. She held her arms when she saw him simply staring at the suit in the display. Slowly moving across the floor towards him.

“He just woke up. He’s back asleep now, but he’ll pull through. I can tell he doesn’t give up very easily.” She studied the back of Bruce’s head.

“Shortly after my parents died, he tried to teach me meditation.” He told her. “It was one of the ways he thought he could help me process what happened. Try and identify my emotions and to control them. Establish inner peace.” His hands came up and pulled the mask off his head. “Can’t say that I’ve been keeping up with it. Not since…the Manor burned down. Despite his attempts to try and direct me back towards a semblance of what my life was before then. Back when Batman was the mask.”

Diana looked at the ground for a moment. “That is the beauty of connecting with others. When you are truly connected, you get a sense of everything they feel. The joy of whatever they may accomplish, and the sadness whenever a tragic event occurs.” Her head came back up. “You should go back down there. Even though he isn’t awake, I’m sure he will want you there, even if for a moment.”

He turned around and started to make his way towards the steps. “We need to head back out. Slade’s tracker is still active, so we should find him and end this.” He stopped when he felt her grab his arm. When he looked back, he felt the intensity of her firm expression aimed right at him. “We can’t let him win.”

“If you go out there like this, he will.” She told him. “He wants you reacting off of your emotions. That way, it will make it easier for him to kill you.”

“I won’t. Not without taking him with me.” He felt her grip tighten around his arm. But he was still surprised to feel her pull him away from the steps, sliding across the floor.

Diana moved so that she stood between him and the stairs down to the Batmobile. “This is why he attacked today. Not just to remind you of Dick’s death, but so he can make sure you are compromised in your thinking. Dick’s death is not your fault. What happened to Alfred is not your fault. Every day that you keep punishing yourself for what happened, you get further away from the man both of them cared for.”

“That person doesn’t exist Diana. Not anymore.” Bruce pushed himself off the ground, getting back onto his feet. He stared down the Amazon in his path. “From that day on, I had to become what Gotham deserves. I could no longer fight crime the way I started off. I changed my tactics. There could be no mercy. The only reason Joker is still around is because killing him would be giving him exactly what he wants. And he has already taken too much from me.”

“And pushing you to sacrifice yourself – to get you willing to give up your own life - is what Slade wants.” Diana shot back at him. “He’s forcing you to play his game. Just like how he is forcing his daughter.” There was a tense silence between them. Bruce unsure how to respond to what Diana said. She took the chance to push forward. “He trained her for years, getting at her at her lowest. At a point where she thought she was completely alone. He made himself the person she thought she needed. But he wasn’t what she deserves. She became a criminal because she wanted to help her mother get the treatment that she needed. And even though she was sent to kill Alfred, she left him alive. With a deep wound, but one that avoided the essential organs. She is lost but struggling to find herself, just as hard as you have been struggling. Over the past years and in this moment.”

Diana slowly walked towards him. They kept eye contact, which is how she could pick up that the fury within in was beginning to subside. “Breath Bruce. Reach inside yourself, find that peace. Even if it is just for a moment.” Her hands reached up to gently grab onto both sides of his face. In and out through the nose, his breathing slowed down. His eyes slowly closed, his head leaned forward towards the ground. Diana leaned her head forward, resting her forehead against his. She could feel his hands rise up and gently wrap themselves around her arms. The two of them listened to the other breath, controlling their energy and the emotions within their hearts. Several moments of silence passed, the two of them remaining in this position. But then, they both lifted their heads up from the ground and leaned forward towards each other. Their lips pressed against each other as they embraced the other. Diana’s hands slid past Bruce’s face and wrapped around his neck. His hands remained on her arms, but what changed was the intensity he met her kiss with. However, it was still a quiet moment of passion. One that reminded both of them of why they were drawn to the other. All thoughts were pushed to the back of their minds, allowing themselves to experience the joy of the moment.

Slowly, they had to pull away from the other. She could sense the tension that was within his body was gone. And he could sense the emotions she was feeling. Concern over his mental well-being, but also confidence that he will realize the right way to go about what needs to be done. He let go of her arms, reaching down onto the ground to pick up the mask he had dropped. After he pulled it back on, a plan was made between the two of them before finally leaving the Batcave to go out for the final battle. 


End file.
